People don’t like to be told when they can consume their content, whether it is television, radio or news – busy lifestyles rarely fit the schedules of such inflexible broadcasts. Now I’m not saying live content is dead. I don’t know anyone who would want to watch the Superbowl days after, or listen to a news broadcast from last week.

Competition for our attention is growing; free internet content is readily and easily available for consumption on cell phones and portable devices of all types. The only problem with all this free content is, well… most of it is poorly produced crap, or recycled content. This will not be the case forever and the shift has already begun, more and more professionals are turning to the internet for its freedom and ease of delivery.

Sirius XM Satellite Radio was nearing bankruptcy in February 2009; Sirius’ stock price had dropped to an all-time low of $0.05 per share.  Sirius was, however, able to get emergency financing, some $500,000,000, from media mogul John Malone, who took a 40% equity stake in the company.  A good band-aid but Sirius XM Satellite Radio and their contract with radio personality Howard Stern is about to expire within weeks. Will re-signing the “king of all media” alone be enough to save the company? Doubtful.

The problem I see with Sirius XM is that it’s a flat subscription service. In this internet age, content is king and although the company does have a variety of quality programming – they are not maximizing its financial potential.  Sure the service provides 120+ channels, but if you’re only interested in the talk channels, only the sports channels, only the music channels.. or only 1 or 2 channels is it worth it for most consumers to pay the full subscription price?  No matter how great the overall value of the service is, for most the answer is no.

I compare it somewhat to the music industry which was built on the album sale.  A band could have one hit song on their album and you’d be forced to pay for an entire album.  I say forced, because there was literally no other (legal) option.  Without an alternative, many would give in. Sure, there would be some people who loved the band completely and were happy to pay for the whole album. Fast forward to now, the music industry in its new digital form you see people mostly buy singles and only purchase entire albums for their favorite artists.

Instead of excluding those potential customers who only want a select few shows or channels, why not offer individual channel subscriptions?  Take it another step, offer subscriptions to individual shows.  If the only show on Sirius XM I like is  the Bubba The Love Sponge show, why not allow me to purchase a subscription to just this show streaming via internet or as a daily downloadable episode.  Podcasts are popular, and people will pay for quality programming. There are a lot of quality daily talk programs on Sirius that are currently only available live at a specific time.

The corporate bigwigs running things at Sirius XM need to realize, exclusive content is worthless if consumers don’t want it in the form you’re delivering it. Most people will not pay a $15/month subscription for a single show. Howard Stern is the exception, not the rule. Howard Stern doesn’t need Sirius XM — he could leave at the end of his contract and be extremely successful as a live/downloadable internet exclusive program. If Howard does leave, imagine the domino effect it will create. The truth is the quality content creators don’t need big corporations anymore. The internet is a delivery system available to a much wider audience than a radio or satellite signal. All they need is a strong following of dedicated fans and a small home studio. So what will keep other from leaving Sirius and setting up shop on the internet?

Sirius XM doesn’t have to stop selling radio hardware and subscriptions — start thinking of your company as a content provider instead of just a “satellite radio” company. Embrace the internet; stop trying to expand your channels selection in hopes of convincing people to subscribe. Instead let your individual content appeal to the individuals interested in it and give them the opportunity to purchase it without strings and schedules.  Offer a fair profit sharing deal with the content creators and it’s a win/win for consumers and creators alike.

It’s time to move with the future or get lost in the stone-age.

The band’s self-titled debut album, was released on February 2, 2010. Richard Christy does some great drumming on this album. Some of the stand-out tracks include “Ghost Town”, “Blood on Wood” and “Voices Within the Walls”

For more information visit their MySpace, Metal Blade Records or Richard Christy’s official website.

Erik Schrody

The album went fairly un-noticed or reviewed by the mainstream media, which is unfortunate because it may be Everlast’s greatest work. With the exception of opening track “Kill The Emperor,” the album largely abandons any hip-hop influence one might expect, instead delivering dark tales and gritty personal musings all threaded together by Everlast’s baritone crooning and a gang of live instruments.

Is Everlast believable in this darker, grittier tone and is it sustainable for a entire album? The songs come off sounding very genuine and introspective. Although his vocal range is limited and this can cause some songs to sound repetitive– there is a great variety of instrumentals and moods. From the “Insane In the Membrane“-esque cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues“, the slow bluesy ballad of “Anyone” to the frustrated barebones acoustic “Friend” or the more upbeat twisted love-song “Dirty”. Everlast does not disappoint.

“Letters Home From The Garden of Stone” is a chilling track written from the perspective of a soldier in doubt, fearful and missing home.

“Sitting restless under the moonlight, I know I’m getting ready to kill, They say we’re going in with the daylight. Ma (Mom), I don’t want to but I will… Coz I won’t know the man who kills me, and I don’t know these men I kill.. I pray to god for my salvation.. wash away the blood I spill”

“Stone In My Hand” and “Naked” are two other stand-out quality tracks.  You can’t help but respect Everlast’s artistic reinvention and evolution. While many artists stay safely within their cookie-cutter dimensions, Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford is an example of an artist successfully walking a new path. While some fans may be disappointed by the new direction, other listeners are bound to become fans as a result of it.

Check this album out– it’s one of 2008′s best.

Phoenix

To be honest I had never heard of Phoenix before I stumbled upon this album, so I can’t really comment on what (if any) kind of evolution this album is from previous works. However, I can say that I really enjoyed this album and it’s great from top to bottom. There’s a sense of purpose about the album’s opening salvo of tracks: Liztomania and 1901, in particular, are so well done, so perfectly constructed as to outflank any reservations you might have about the band’s slightly dry approach.

There’s also a nice range of tempos throughout the album, Fences spikes the electro beat of Daft Punk with an urgent acoustic-guitar breakdown for splendidly danceable melancholy. To the near Brit-rocky rave-ups of Lasso.

Love Like A Sunset is a great mellow yet epic, mid-album palate cleanser of almost 7 minutes of pure instrumental.

Everything on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is well constructed and never sounds forced –or over-produced and fussy. Overall it’s a great listen, check it out.

“I’m just so f*cking depressed, I just can’t seem to get out this slump/ if I could just get over this hump/ but I need something to pull me out this dump/ I took my bruises/ took my lumps/ fell down and I got right back up/ But I need that spark to get psyched back up/ In order for me to pick the mic back up/ I don’t how or why or when I ended up in this position I’m in/ I’m starting to feel distance again/ so I decided just to pick this pen up and make an attempt to vent/ but I just can’t admit/ or come to grips with that fact that I may be done with rap/ “

Eminem is a 36 year old man now, that’s 10 years since his first album. His modern attempts to be shocking and edgy lack the passionate delivery and sincerity of previous work. It often comes off sounding very forced and contrived. Other times lyrics lack any real cohesion, sure the words rhyme but it’s mostly gibberish.

The good news is there’s only a handful of songs with these shortcomings. The album as a whole is a great improvement over The Eminem Show. Songs like “Hello”, “Bagpipes from Baghdad” and “Same Song and Dance” are great examples of classic Eminem; great delivery and clever rhyme schemes. In contrast, “Déjà vu” and “Beautiful” are great examples of a more grown up Eminem with very honest, reflective lyrics. I can’t help but wish the entire album was more in the spirit of those for-mentioned tracks.

The albums first two singles “Crack a Bottle” and “We Made You” are sure to satisfy the mainstream bubble-gum rap fans. As a fan, it’s hard for me to be so critical of the album but Eminem has the potential for a greater overall product. Relapse was originally planned as a double album, so I can’t help but wonder if Eminem is saving the best for last with Relapse 2 slated for release in late 2009.

Keep in mind this album is dance music so don’t expect deep thought-provoking intelligent lyrics, the music is the main focus. Sadly you can’t help but notice that a lot of the songs on this album have a near identical sound to them, so about 4 tracks deep into listening you might find yourself feeling like this whole album is just one long techno track.

There are a few tracks where they dial it down; Heartbreaker featuring R&B star John Legend who has a great voice, but the song itself is a little stale. Ghostface Killah is featured on the track Word Up, but you feel like his lyrical talents are somewhat wasted as he has no verses; they simply play samples of him shouting things like “word up”, “do it hard” and “this is how you do it”.

Some tracks I actually enjoyed were the opening track It Ain’t Love. Also Bounce, 1000 Cigarettes; and Click Click featuring a great appearance by rapper E-40. Is this album innovative or groundbreaking? No. However MSTRKRFT is still in a league of their own within the genre and there are some good songs on this album. It’s worth checking out.

Roth finally discovered hip-hop in 1998 “When I heard the Annie sample with Jay-Z….When I wrote my ‘A Milli’ freestyle, that was me listening to 10 years of hip hop and not relating to it at all. Like, Damn I don’t sell coke. Damn, I don’t have cars or 25-inch rims. I don’t have guns. I finally got to a point where I had the confidence to do this thing myself, and I was making music for me. And it turns out, a lot of people feel the same way I do.“

Fast forward to 2009 with his first studio release “Asleep In The Bread Aisle”. So is he good? I found this album to be refreshing. Although I’d say his content and style are different than Eminem, the skill is comparable.

The album features 12 tracks, the songs I gravitated toward were the very first track (and second single) “Lark On My Go-Kart” which feels like a 3 minute freestyle, no hook just great lyrics and delivery.

“Mario kart skills are outrageous/
Play me any day and I’ll be the best racist/
Wait no erase it/ meant to say racer/
Traded in my cell phone for a new pager/
Take off your bluetooth now dot com/
I’m at the grocery store with hot moms/”

“I Love College” the first single, a good college anthem.

“La Di Da” is about the struggle to stay on the track, through all the hurdles and obstacles. Catchy hook.

“Bad Day” is pretty self explanatory track, although I’m not crazy about the hook by Jazze Pha, but the verses by Asher are classic:

“It’s already 11:20 and I’m ready to sleep/
But instead I end up sitting in the 27th seat/
An aisle seat/ fine by me/ But the guy that’s insides always trying to pee/
With a wild child behind that’s crying and keeps/
Flipping out and kicking at me while it violently screams/
So I silently plead “Oh God, please let there be a hunny sitting 27B”/
But of course a morbidly obese beast is in the seat/
That wheezes when it breathes/ dude sitting D is at least three deep/
And he keeps telling me what is wrong with his knees/
Osgood Slaughter/ just need water/ but for a bottle they charge two dollars/
and when I thought that it couldn’t be worse, I forgot my iPod.”

“His Dream” is what appears to be a tribute to his father.

“Fallin’” is great track with an old-school feel, reminiscing about his days growing up.

These are just the stand-out tracks to me. I’d say the overall album is great listen and is well worth the money. Which is something that can rarely be said about a lot of artists this day.

For more information on Asher Roth visit his official website.

I first discovered Röyksopp when the HBO series Entourage featured a remixed version of their song “What Else Is There”. Junior has been described as a mix between the styles of the two previous studio albums, Melody A.M. and The Understanding.

Junior has a unique sound; the 11 track album display a variety of moods and wide range in tempos. The tracks I enjoyed the most are the following:

“Happy Up There” the first single, a great upbeat song with a “summertime” vibe to it.

“The Girl and The Robot” is the second single, an up-tempo song featuring vocals from Swedish singer Robyn.

“Vision One” very gritty electronic beats & great vocals from Norwegian singer Anneli Drecker.

“Miss It So Much” an electropop lullaby with very soft lyrics by Swedish indie-rocker Lykke Li.

The bottom line is if you’re a fan of electronic music you will no doubt find something you like on this album. I find I can listen to this album top to bottom only skipping a couple tracks. Check this one out, it’s a great listen.

For more information on Röyksopp visit their official website.